Here’s a nice article about the growth of the Church of the FSM in Australia. An interesting dynamic there is the every-five-year census that includes religious preference. The results of the census influence funding and social programs. Australia does not currently recognize the Church of the FSM as an “official” religion so Pastafarians are at a disadvantage. Still, it sounds like the situation is improving.

When Census night 2021 rolled around, Pirate Priestess Angela Carter and her husband Captain Colin “Cupcakes” Carter followed an instruction from their leader and selected the “no religion” option where the nationwide survey asked respondents about their religious affiliations.

Yet the Carters are actually among a growing number of Australians who consider themselves to be Pastafarians, or members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

They are also ministers and owners of the only recognised church of their faith in the country, but they checked the “no religion” box because they didn’t want to be counted as Christians in the census.

abc.net.au

Here is the article.

Apparently our website is blocked by some company firewalls because it is in the “cults” category. I am wondering how common this is — have many of you encountered this?

I want to share the Trailer from Mosey The Pirate – an upcoming game that features the Flying Spaghetti Monster in all of His glory. It’ll be available on Steam soon.

Some of the Australia-bound ordinations are coming back in the mail — there is some disruption to mail service because of Covid it sounds like. We are re-sending all the ones that have come back in the mail, but there may be more lost Ordinations that we don’t know about. If you’re still waiting on an Ordination please let me know (I emailed also). Sorry for the delay.

Happy Holidays everyone. Feel free to use the holiday e-Card machine to send greetings to your family and friends.

Many people have asked what is the Church’s stance on vaccinations and vaccination mandates.

Many have asked if we provide exemption letters.

I find it weird that religious exemptions are an accepted thing in general, seems like it would be best to leave public health policy to the most knowledgable, not religious leadership. But if Churches must take a position on the issue …

I am happy to announce that we are offering Official letters for those Pastafarians who would like to be exempt from working in proximity to the unvaxxed.

The unvaccinated may emit harmful virus particles which are forbidden to devout Pastafarians, therefore we expect all reasonable measures to be taken to help us avoid these virus particles. Please respect our religious liberty.

Create your letter here with this form I made. Enter your information to get an Official letter (PDF).

Some sad news from our Pastafarian friends down under –

The CoFSM Australia has been denied again in its goal for formal recognition by the state. (The legal designation they’re aiming for is the same idea as a religious non-profit organization in the US.)

The original application had been denied some time ago and then appealed to an administrative tribunal, where CoFSM Australia leader Tanya Watkins argued the merits of the Church. I am certain Tanya did an amazing job, but unfortunately the tribunal ruled against us. Among other things, they found that our writings are offensive, and that the purpose of the writings are to mock other religions. The tribunal lady does not think we are funny, and religion is serious business and not to be made fun of, is how I read her statement.

In the ruling, Ms McEvoy noted that while various “Pastafarian texts” are set out in traditional religious forms, they “contain some surprising articulations”, such as references to the books of the Bible as the “Old Testicle” and “New Testicle”

I do not accept the applicant’s explanation of the use of these expressions (and numerous other similar expressions, many expressed in racist and sexist terms, referencing texts or practices of other religions) as examples of humour, and for the purpose of generating curiosity.”

Ms McEvoy said she was satisfied that the “Pastafarian texts present a hoax religion”.

It is my view that the Pastafarian texts can only be read as parody or satire, namely, an imitation of work made for comic effect. In my view, its purpose is to satirise or mock established religions, and it does so without discrimination,” she wrote.

excerpt from abc.net.au news article

It is disappointing, but not surprising. These fights are happening all over the world and it’s obvious where there is some co-mingling of State and Religion even in places that proclaim to have seperation.

The tele-evangelists with their private jets who are conning the poor with prosperity gospel, those are legitimate organizations? OK. It’s hard to respect the opinion of state authorities who have for years failed to protect the public from abuses of the religious organizations they’ve deemed legitimate.

The truth is that every time an “official” ruling is made against our Church it illustrates how absurd the whole idea is of the state defining what is a legitimate religious organization. Every ruling against the Church of FSM shines light on the biases and the record of the authorities who are making these rulings.

But it will be fine. The Church will continue to grow without formal recognition.

We all owe a big thanks to Tanya Watkins who has been leading these battles in Australia for years. She is incredibly organized and I do not know where she gets the energy to do all that she does. Everyone should read the article on abc.net.au about this latest battle with the tribunal – Tanya has some good quotes in there, and also there’s a very fetching photo, below. Thank you Tanya.

Here’s the ABC article: read here